Box of Chocolates
by Asylum Survivor
Summary: She would tell him how she felt about him but it was too late, for he was in love with someone else. AU Ichihime.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. It belongs to Tite Kubo. **

**Title: Box of Chocolates**

**Pairing: One sided Ichigo/Orihime, some Ichi/Ruki**

**Inspiration: Heartbreak**

* * *

She was right all along. He never loved her.

* * *

She had spent countless hours wondering if she should tell him that she was in love with him. So she made up her mind and went to the chocolate shop and picked out the best box of chocolates.

_The box was red, his favorite color._

She planned to give him the box during before lunch. She was to confess her feelings for him. She would tell him everything and he would understand. He'd love her.

_He would know the truth._

Orihime could hardly wait until the lunch bell rang. She was nervous, of course. She was about to admit that she had fallen in love with him.

_She would be his._

After Orihime got the box out of her locker, she wandered the halls looking for Ichigo. The hallways were empty by now. Everyone had gone to lunch. She clutched the heart shaped box to her chest, where her heart was. She bit her lip in worry.

_She couldn't find him._

She walked through a hall with glass on both sides. Silently, she slipped by an alcove, but a mass of shaggy honey blond hair caught her eye. She was about to call out his name, to let him know that she was there for him. But someone else was already there.

_She was too late._

Ichigo held up two tickets to the homecoming dance that was to be on that Saturday. He grinned, and handed them to petite dark haired girl in front of him. The girl smiled back and stood up on her tiptoes to kiss him.

_The girl was Rukia._

Orihime's charcoal orbs filled with tears, but she didn't say a word. Her tears slid down her face and fell to the box of chocolates. Orihime gripped the carton hard, but it slipped from her fingers and crashed to the ground. The sound of the box falling to the ground and the chocolate scattering on the floor echoed in the bare hallway as Orihime ran. She left as silently as she had arrived.

_The box was red, his favorite color._

* * *

**I can't. I really can't.**

**~A  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. It belongs to Tite Kubo. **

**Title: Box of Chocolates**

**Pairing: One sided Ichigo/Orihime, some Ichi/Ruki**

**Inspiration: Heartbreak**

* * *

She was right all along. He never loved her.

* * *

At first, she wanted to cry. She wanted to run into the nearest bathroom and cry her heart out. She didn't care if she'd miss lunch.

_Then she wouldn't have to see them._

But she walked to the B building, took the elevator to the rooftop café, and bought her lunch. Sure, she was in aftershock, but she couldn't let her emotions show.

_Or else she would break down._

Orihime forced herself to sit with her friends and eat her plain lunch of a bowl of ramen noodles. She wasn't in any mood to eat. Her heart felt like it had been ripped from her. She had given her heart to him and in return, Orihime felt like he had put her heart through a document shredder.

_She was ripped in two._

"Orihime?" A voice shook her out from her mind.

"Yes?" She replied, but her heart wasn't up for conversing.

She looked up, her gray eyes peeking out from under her dark auburn hair. Her eyes caught warm brown eyes.

_It was him._

"Let's go for a walk." Ichigo asked her. She was surprised that he had the nerve to even talk to her.

She stood up, brushing the breadcrumbs from her short uniform skirt and her tight, curve-hugging sweater.

"Fine." She simply said. She didn't take his hand when he offered it to her.

He led the way to the lower fields, where the freshmen were having their gym class. They were in their baseball unit.

Ichigo sat down, and shook his head slightly to get his golden blond hair out of his eyes. Orihime tried not to melt into a puddle.

"So, I wanted to ask you if you could…" He started, as he looked up into Orihime's gray eyes.

"If I could?" She asked back. She wished with all her heart that somehow he would change his mind and take _her _to Homecoming instead.

"If you help me out with Rukia and Homecoming." He finished.

And the knife in her heart dug in deeper.

* * *

**Kind of a filler... brain dead... SO MAYBE SOME IDEAS FOR THE NEXT CHAPTERS?**

**~A  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. It belongs to Tite Kubo. **

**Title: Box of Chocolates**

**Pairing: One sided Ichigo/Orihime, some Ichi/Ruki**

**Inspiration: Heartbreak**

* * *

She was right all along. He never loved her.

* * *

"So what do you think?" He looked at her expectantly.

Even though the freshman were playing in gym, even though the track team was practicing, even though you could hear the traffic from the highway, Orihime felt like she was lost in a silent world.

She thought for what felt like a century, but it was truly a second. She took a steadying breath and looked him in the eye.

"No." She said assertively.

Ichigo crinkled his hazel eyes. "Why not? You're friends with Rukia." He didn't understand. He never did.

"Ichigo, I can't really…just…not now, okay?" Orihime stood up, and bent down to get her backpack. She could hear the freshman play in their gym class. She could hear their happy chatter, the hits of the ball, the whistles.

"Orihime, I really want to do this right, I mean, Rukia's the only girl I ever truly loved and I wanna…" Ichigo rose to his feet and walked to Orihime.

Orihime turned around sharply, her dark auburn swinging wildly around her.

"I've known you my entire life. And then all of a sudden, you fall head over heels for some girl you don't even _know_!" She cried out. Her voice wanted to crack, her heart wanted to shatter, her brain wanted to scream.

"She's not 'some girl'. Rukia's the most amazing girl I've ever known and I love her more than anyone…" Ichigo snapped back.

But he was cut off because Orihime had reached out and slapped him straight across his cheek. The freshman gym class had stopped what they had been doing, and everyone, including the gym teacher was staring at the two.

"Orihime, I…" Ichigo rethought his actions and words, but it was too late.

"I'm sorry. I can't help you." Orihime started to head back to the B building. She wouldn't be late for AP English because of this.

But Ichigo turned her around and caught her before she could go. He put his hands on her waist and drew her in close to him.

"Look, you're a really great friend and all, but…" Ichigo tried to apologize, but it didn't help. He pursued the girl with gray eyes in front of him, but he couldn't catch up to her. So he put his hands on her waist and drew her in close to him.

Orihime paused, letting the words sink in. Then she put her hands on his chest and pushed him away.

"A 'really great friend'? Is that all I am to you?" She asked, her voice barely a whisper. Wisps of wind swirled around the pair, making Orihime's long hair dance around.

"Orihime," Ichigo rushed to eat his share of humble pie, but Orihime was already leaving him as the five-minute bell rang. He reached out and grabbed her hand from behind.

"Let me go, Ichigo." She snapped, pulling her hand away harshly from his. His hand tried to grab at the empty air, but it was a failure. She was gone.

Orihime realized that she hadn't called him Kurosaki-kun until it was too late. But she knew what it meant.

He wasn't hers anymore.

* * *

**Was it too rushed? ANY IDEAS FOR NEXT CHAPTER? (And thanks for all the reviews! Reviews are love, so I LOVE YOU GUYS!)**

**~A  
**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. It belongs to Tite Kubo. **

**Title: Box of Chocolates**

**Pairing: One sided Ichigo/Orihime, some Ichi/Ruki**

**Inspiration: Heartbreak**

* * *

She was right all along. He never loved her.

* * *

Orihime yawned and lifted her arms over her head, stretching. She knew that it was late, and Homecoming should have been over by an hour ago. But no one was returning.

Orihime had opted out of going to Homecoming with excuses of studying for her pre-Calculus finals. She stared at the pile of books laid out in front of her and then she glanced at the clock behind her on the wall. It was half past 11. Chills ran down her back as she gathered her things and put them away in her backpack. So she stood up and walked to her closet to get a sweater.

She turned the closet light on and pushed open the door. Orihime shoved some hangers aside only to come across the dress she had bought for Homecoming. It was dark blue, her favorite color. The saddest thing wasn't that she couldn't wear it, but it was that the person she had bought it for would never see it.

She shivered once more when the doorbell rang. Part of her willed her not to answer the door.

But she didn't listen.

She never did.

Orihime unlocked the door and turned the doorknob. The door creaked open by its own weight. She pulled at her pajama shorts; she was sure they had ridden up when she was studying.

"Who is it?" She called out in an attempt of stopping, but it was too late. The person on the other side had let himself in. His hair was disheveled; his black tie was loose around his neck and crooked. The buttons on his white button-down were mismatched. She could smell the alcohol on him.

"H-hey." It was Ichigo.

Orihime didn't want to see him anymore, much less _talk_ to him. And here he was, standing outside of her house late in the night.

"What do you need?" She crossed her arms over her chest so he wouldn't be able to stare down her.

"Can we talk?" He slurred shamelessly.

She wasn't going to let him stand in the cold October night, so she reluctantly let him in. He took his worn out sneakers off and shoved them next to her delicate ballet flats.

She directed him to the living room where they stood awkwardly. Orihime couldn't stand the silence so she turned away and went to the kitchen to start a cup of tea.

When the kettle started to whistle, Orihime shut the stove off and grabbed the kettle. She poured the water into a mug, steeped the tea, and threw out the teabag after draining it. Then she went back to him.

But she couldn't find him.

Her house was small; there weren't many places he could be. At first she thought he was in the bathroom, throwing up from all of the alcohol he had drank, but when she came to the bathroom, it was dark and empty. She sighed and left the mug of tea for him, just in case he was to stop by there.

Orihime turned around and headed to her bedroom, thinking that he left. She opened her room's door to find him in her room.

He was standing with his back facing her and her closet was opened further. Her blue dress was out of its hanger and in his hands.

"What are you doing with my dress?" She walked up to him.

"We missed you at Homecoming. Tatsuki wanted to know where you were." His chestnut eyes drifted to the bodice of the dress. "You would've looked beautiful in this."

The feelings that she had tucked away; the anger, the hurt, had broken free from their barrier and all her ire spilled over.

She reached out and ripped the dress from his hands. She hugged the dress to her chest protectively.

The tears fell from her cloud eyes as she shrieked, "How could you go into my room and dig through my things? This is my home, Ichigo. You have no right to come traipsing into my house, drunk, after you have obviously been busy, and tell me you missed me and that I would have looked beautiful. Don't you understand what you're doing to me?"

He started to say something, but she cut him off by continuing.

"How can you even begin to say those kinds of things when you just told me I'm only your friend a few days ago? When you just got a girlfriend right before that? How dare you?" She cried as the teardrops fell.

"Dammit, Orihime! Can't you see I'm trying here? I'm trying to fix things between us. I'm really trying." He snapped out of his drunken stupor.

"Fix what, Ichigo? We never had anything to begin with." Orihime stopped yelling, but her tears had not faded.

"Of course we did!" Ichigo cried, clearly exasperated.

"What? What did we have, Ichigo?" Orihime asked him. She wasn't being sarcastic or rhetorical. She just wanted answers.

"I…I don't know. But we had _something_." He stumbled for his reply. They were both desperate now.

Orihime stopped crying, and she could say what he really needed to hear from her.

"I know. I know what we had. I know what we could have had. But now, now we have nothing. You made sure of that. I didn't give you up. _You gave me up._" She asserted. She wasn't going to passive anymore. She had found her voice.

And then it happened so quickly. Before she knew what was happening, Ichigo pulled her to him and kissed her.

Fireworks set off in Orihime's head, a warning signal for her to stop kissing him.

He tasted like whiskey.

Before she could react, he pushed her away like he always did. His hands drew away from her waist and instead, they were on her shoulders, keeping her at arm's distance.

Ichigo looked at her with mortified eyes and in a state of aftershock he rushed out, "That…that shouldn't have happened. None of this should have happened. I shouldn't even be here. Oh, god. I need to go."

He headed out of her room in a hurry, gathering his things quickly. She trailed behind him, appalled. He was already at the door by the time she reached him. He turned the doorknob, and he looked behind him at her. Ichigo's chocolate eyes searched her fog eyes, but couldn't find anything.

In a final act of desperation he whispered, "I'm sorry," before walking out of her house.

Orihime closed the door when he left and turned around. But instead of going back to her room, she slid to the floor, sobbing.

She couldn't do this anymore. She just couldn't. She was done.

* * *

**This was a monster to write. Thank God it's done! Thanks to sakurachild for helping out by writing that outline I so desperately needed! (Thanks for all of teh reviews. Reviews are like little love letters!) ****~A**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. It belongs to Tite Kubo. **

**Title: Box of Chocolates**

**Pairing: Ichihime**

**Inspiration: Heartbreak.**

* * *

She was right all along. He never loved her.

* * *

Ichigo tried talking to her, but after several failed attempts, and to her relief, he gave up. But she did miss finding the numerous notes and flowers in her locker during homeroom.

A month passed after the incident, and she and Ichigo hardly made any form of contact. They still saw each other in the hallways during passing period, and they were still in the same lunch period and classes, but it wasn't the same. She sometimes caught him looking at her with heartbroken eyes, and she ducked her head and tried not to listen to the small voice in the back of her head that told her to reconcile with him.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Mondays after school were always the same. Since there was no swim practice that day, Orihime opted to stay back and clean out her art portfolio. The art room was all the way in the D building and her last class was in the B building. Orihime would have to take the long way if she wanted to stay safe from the chilling winds of November.

When she reached the art room, it was vacated. Orihime sighed and went to the drawers in the back by the kiln room to get her large folder. She found her name on her designated drawer and slid the wood compartment out. Orihime picked up her heavy folder and set it on a table. She started flipping through her drawings and paintings, looking at which ones to keep for the art show and which ones to take home.

She was so caught up with her organization that she didn't notice him until he spoke up.

"H-hey."

She looked up sharply and shock filled her heart. It was Ichigo.

He had changed out of his school uniform and was in his lacrosse uniform. He had his backpack with him and he was on his way to the F building for practice.

"Ichigo." Orihime drew out, unsure of what to say.

Ichigo stepped inside the art room, her only sanctuary to escape from him.

"Ichigo," Orihime started, already backing away and waving her hands to say stop.

"I'm just here to talk." He told her as he edged closer to her.

So Orihime put her guard down and let him come in. "Okay, shoot."

"Rukia and I broke up about a week ago." Ichigo informed her.

They… broke up? But why would they break up? They seemed like such a happy couple, always smiling and holding hands.

"But why?" Orihime backed up as he crept closer, and nearly knocked over a couple of racks.

"I realized that I was in love with you, Orihime. Ever since that night, I had a feeling that Rukia wasn't right for me." He stressed his words by putting his hands on Orihime's waist.

"Seriously, Ichigo…" Orihime sighed, but then she noticed that his hands were sliding to her hips.

"I'm not lying," He tried to reassure her, smiling.

"And I'm not calling you a liar, but that's not a good enough reason." Orihime tried to squirm out of his grasp.

"Come on, Hime." Ichigo lingered on his reasoning. His grip on Orihime tightened to a very uncomfortable hold.

"Stop it!" She yelped, slapping his hands away. She made an escape and flitted out of his reach.

"Orihime, please listen to me," Ichigo lifted his hands, pleading.

"Why are you doing this?" Orihime suddenly cried out.

"Doing what?" Ichigo shook his head.

"Why are you playing games with me? I don't have the time to do this with you. I don't want anything to do with you. Just please leave me alone. You won't bother me, and I won't bother you," Orihime started to gather her things. She shoved her drawings that she was to take home in her backpack.

"But don't you want to be with me? After all, aren't you supposed to be in love with me?" Ichigo had done the unspeakable. He had brought up her past feelings about him, the very ones that she had tried so hard to let go.

"Don't ever bring that up." Orihime turned around to face him, her gray eyes stormy.

"Hime, I didn't mean to, I," Ichigo rushed in to apologize, but it was too late.

"And stop calling me Hime. I'm not some stupid dog that you can pet and play 'fetch' with." She asserted. Then she pushed past the boy she had been in love with since she was a little girl, and tried to forget him as she made her way back home.

* * *

**I finally updated after being on hiatus for a few months! This story is no longer on hiatus, but I might end it soon. Do you think Orihime will end up with Ichigo? Enjoy this chapter! ~A**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. It belongs to Tite Kubo. **

**Title: Moments**

**Pairing: Ichihime**

**Inspiration: soft sighs**

* * *

She was right all along. He never loved her.

* * *

Orihime had always wanted to open up a bakery of her own, and working in a bakery was one step closer to her dream. Ono's was a small cafe and bakery on the corner of Marmot and Greenwich. Orihime had been working at Ono's since freshman year and she was one of the bakers, but on Friday's shift, she'd be the barista.

.

.

.

.

The bells attached to the top of the door rang out, signaling a new customer. Orihime looked up from wiping the tables and hurried back to the main counter. She heaved a sigh as she prepared the coffee cups. The customer had made his way to the counter, and rang the little calling bell to get her attention.

"I'll be right there," Orihime called out. She moved her long ruddy brown hair away from her face and whirled around. A smile was on her face, for she was ready for her shift.

But then the smile deflated a little when she saw who the customer was.

It was Ichigo. Orihime groaned inwardly, convinced that she was cursed. He smiled softly at her, and Orihime did everything in her power to not break in front of him.

"Welcome to Ono's. What would you like to have today?" Orihime recited, trying not to sound like she was deadpanning.

"I'll have a small hazelnut cream coffee, with two chocolate ganache filled donuts." Ichigo glanced above her, and scanned the chalkboard menus.

"All right. That'll be $4.50." Orihime rang up the order. She printed the receipt and handed it to him as he gave her that money carefully so their hands would not touch. Orihime watched Ichigo take a seat in a private booth by the back while he waited.

She grabbed a small plastic cup and filled it with the house blend coffee, and then she got the hazelnut syrup and cream. She added the ingredients and put the cup in the stirrer. In the meanwhile, Orihime went to the little display case by the counter and pulled out the two donuts and set them on a little china plate. When the coffee was done, she took it and the plate to Ichigo's table.

"Here you go. One hazelnut cream and two chocolate ganache." Orihime set the meal on the table, trying to avoid catching Ichigo's eye. She spun on her heel and started to walk away.

"Hime, wait." Ichigo called out to her.

Orihime stopped dead in her tracks. "What is it?"

"We need to talk about us." He answered her. She turned around and slid into the seat facing him.

"There never was an 'us'." She informed him. She waited for his response, but he didn't have one. He just stared at her with his chocolate eyes.

"I…I guess you're right." Ichigo looked down, distracting himself by twiddling his thumbs.

"Ichigo, honestly, why do you even try with me?" Orihime sighed and stole a look at the clock. Her shift was almost over. She could finally go home and forget this ever happened.

"I just want you to give me a second go. That's all I'm asking for." Ichigo reached across the table and took her hands in his.

"If I were to give you a second go, hypothetically speaking, I don't want to be your second choice." Orihime shook her head in disbelief. He was pathetic, begging her to take him back.

"Orihime, you never were my second choice," Ichigo squeezed Orihime's hands. Orihime noticed that he didn't call her Hime like he usually did.

"But what about Rukia?" Orihime tried to see through his lies, but her heart was telling her that maybe, maybe this was true.

"It's you. It's always been you. At first, I avoided you and tried to get my mind straight by dating Rukia. I was happy, and I forgot all about you. But after a while, it just didn't work out with her. We'd constantly be fighting, and we fell out. I mulled over it, and I figured out that I loved you. You were the one I needed." Ichigo explained, trying to express his true feelings this time.

"If I was the one who you truly loved, then why did you…?" Orihime started, bringing her hands back to her lap.

"I was stupid and I made a mistake. I should have asked you to Homecoming." Ichigo ran a hand through his honey blond hair.

"Oh…" Orihime was appalled. She didn't know what to say.

"Let's start over. I'm Ichigo Kurosaki." He gave her a half-smile and stuck out his hand for her to take it.

"I'm Orihime Inoue." She shook his hand, and smiled, really, truly smiled.

He could see the color coming back to her gray eyes, her rosy personality coming back to her.

He almost forgot what he had planned to also do. He dug around in his coat's pocket and pulled out a little square box that had a ribbon tied around it. It was a box of chocolates.

"I've been meaning to give this to you, but we weren't exactly on friendly terms yet." He handed her the box.

"You saw me," Orihime simply said as she accepted the gift, recalling the day when she saw him ask the raven-haired girl to Homecoming.

"Yeah, and I felt like crap afterwards. Hopefully, this is a peace offering." He grimaced a bit, trying not to upset her.

"It's all right. We're starting over now, so there's no more hard feelings." Orihime shook her head, a ghost of a smile on her lips.

"Good, good. So… can I share the donuts with you?" Ichigo asked her.

"Sure, that'd be lovely." Orihime nodded, finally giving her heart to him. It wasn't the perfect first date she'd always imagined, but sharing coffee and donuts over at Ono's on a rainy afternoon topped the candlelit dinner and romantic walk she'd dreamed about.

They sure as hell didn't expect to end up with each other, but not that it mattered. All that mattered was the present and it was right there in front of them. They'd have each other to get them through the days. And hey, maybe a box of chocolates was all that they needed.

_Fin_

* * *

**Well... it's been one hell of a ride to get BOC done. Thanks to sakurachild for helping me when the plot monkey was purposely avoiding me! Thanks to all the lovely reviewers who have been by my side all this time and special thanks to supremekikay24 for the tip on the ending!**

**-A**


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